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Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Sepia Saturday - Rocky Memories

Each week Sepia Saturday, provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

Take a journey into rocky memories visiting India, the Scottish Borders, the Lake District, Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire, Staffa off Scotland's west coast and Marsden Rock at South Shields, County Durham.

INDIA

My husband's uncle Matty (Matthew Iley White) of South Shields, County Durham is among this group of soldiers perched on a rock in India. Matty served in the Durham Light Infantry in India 1933-1937, as listed in his service book below.

HAWICK IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS

Little daughter on a little rock surveying the land above Hawick in the Scottish Borders, c.1976. It must have been a good summer as the land looks unusually dry.

THE ISLE OF IONA OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND

A windy day as daughter, now a lot older, but still perching on a rock!

LAKE DISTRICT

A large rock in the Lake District - near Keswick (I think) c.1988 I don't know how I was adventurous enough to climb to the top - I could not do it now.

BRIMHAM ROCKS IN YORKSHIRE

To North Yorkshire - and the Brimham Rocks, hugh balancing rock formations with spectacular views over the Niddersdale Moors. With a labyrinth of paths and plenty of hiding places, be warned, this is a great place to lose children who can hunt for rocks with weird names such as Dancing Bear,
The Eagle and The Gorilla, The Smartie Tube and balance on
the Rocking Stones. In the care of the National Trust.

TO SCOTLAND & STAFFA OFF THE ISLE OF MULL

We now head north to the west coast of Scotland - and Staffa which lies 9 miles off the Isles of Mull and Iona. Its most famous feature is Fingal's Cave, a large sea cave located near the southern tip of the island some 60 feet high. The sight of the rocks and the sound of the sea inspired composer Felix Mendellsohn to capture his visit in 1829 in "The Hebrides Overture". Other famous visitors followed - John Keats, Sir walter Scott, Joseph Turner and Robert Louis Stevenson. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were rowed into the cave on the royal barge in 1847.

Approaching Fingal's Cave on the Island of Staffa.

A view from the top - quite a climb on steps cut into the rocks, with a rope to hold on to as a safely aid!

MARSDEN ROCK OFF SOUTH SHIELDS, COUNTY DURHAM

A journey to South Shields at the mouth of the River Tyne - home of my husband's Donaldson ancestors.

Marsden Rock is a 100 foot sea stack which lies 100 yards off the cliff face. Believed to be once a smugglers' haunt, it is now the home of seabird colonies. In 1803 a
flight of steps was constructed up the side of the rock. In 1903 several
choirs climbed onto the rock to perform a choral service. My husband spent his childhood here, with the beach a favourite playground.

In a way this is an historic photograph, as in 1996 the arch collapsed, splitting the rock into two stacks. The smaller stack was decreed unsafe and demolished.

Among the cliff face rocks at Marsden c. 1983

Daughter (left) with her cousin and dog Cindy - with matching hairstyles! c.1983

Great rock collection! Smiling cause I remember bringing home pockets full of rocks, thinking I'd have a small "rock collection" one day. Nah, just little rocks sitting around all over the house! Some I do remember where I collected them from still!

A clever & fascinating take on the prompt! The Brimham rock formations in North Yorkshire are somewhat reminiscent of rock formations in the Sierras in certain areas where I've seen quite a few balancing or stacked rocks. And I can certainly see pirates of yesteryear hanging out in Fingal's Cave! :))

The balancing rocks at Brimham remind me very much of similar formations of granite in Zimbabwe, but it is to the photos of Fingal's Cave that I am drawn. I hope to get there one day - the columnar basalts feature in many geological text books. Thanks for sharing your photos.

About Me

I have been interested in family history for years. It all began when I was allowed as a child to look through the old family photographs and memorabilia kept in a shoebox in the cupboard at my grandfather's house. That treat started me on a fascinating ancestral trail.